


Woman at the River

by Straight_Outta_Hobbiton



Series: 400 Scrawls To Thank You All [2]
Category: Bleach, The Sandman (Comics)
Genre: Gen, Post-Xcution
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-07
Updated: 2016-01-07
Packaged: 2018-05-12 11:56:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 548
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5665246
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Straight_Outta_Hobbiton/pseuds/Straight_Outta_Hobbiton
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ichigo talks to the lady at the river almost every day after he loses his powers, but this time, it’s different.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Woman at the River

**Author's Note:**

> Anonymous asked: Ichigo meets Death?

She’s there before Ichigo fully reclines on the bench, legs crossed and a warm smile on her face.

“Good evening, Ichigo-kun.”

He dips his head.

“Onee-san.”

“You cried.”

Ichigo huffs a laugh.

“Of course you fucking saw that.”

She smacks him lightly in the shoulder. A tingle rolls down his spine even after she pulls away.

“Language.” She sits back. “I always keep an eye on my favorites, and you are certainly one of them, Ichigo-kun. Telling Gen-chan off like you were his mother— I haven’t had so much fun in my own kingdom since… It’s been a while.”

Ichigo snorts.

“What can I say, I was frustrated. I’m only seventeen, you know.”

She hums in agreement, and they go quiet.

“I knew who you were,” he says after a few minutes. “I knew it from the moment you started hanging around.”

She gives him an odd look, idly chewing at her black lower lip.

“How do you figure?” she asks, and he shrugs.

“I’ve heard your voice before,” he reminds her. “When kaa-san died. You told me not to be afraid.”

There’s a beat of silence, a moment where her eyes become galaxies and the world slows.

Then she smiles.

“I’m surprised you remember that,” she admits. “Few people can remember my voice— or live to remember it, anyway.”

“I’m different,” he says with a shrug. “And it’s not like I haven’t heard you other times. When I was eleven, and fell off the roof. When I was fifteen, and Byakuya killed me. When Urahara-san threw me in the pit. When Ulquiorra tore my heart out. When I lost my powers. When I got them back.”

She grins.

“You’ve got a good memory, Ichigo-kun. I like that.”

“Yeah. Thanks.”

She pulls herself to her feet, eyes on the dark water lapping at the cement under her toes.

“Will I be seeing you again?”

She looks back. Ichigo’s eyes are on her, warm and calm and damn— he’s just the sort of boy Destiny said he’d become.

“Well, you’re gonna be in my neck of the woods, and it’s not like I’m never in town,” she points out wryly, and Ichigo can’t help the chuckle that bubbles up. “I’m pretty sure you’ll be seeing me a lot.” She moves closer, leaning forward to press a kiss to his forehead. His eyes flutter closed as she leaves behind a lipstick stain.

“Onee-san’s always around, Ichigo-kun, just like the rest of my brothers and sisters are,” she says. “So don’t go crying over nothing, okay?”

He rolls his eyes. She smacks him again.

“Alright, alright! Hell, onee-san, you’re so violent."

She grins.

"Well, you like that in a girl." She winks, scrunching the curly tattoo under her eye with the movement when he flushes. "Anyway, I just wanted to say hey, and that I’m proud of you. Okay?"

Ichigo’s lip quirks.

"Thanks, onee-san. You don’t know what that means to me."

"Of course not." Eyes sparkling with amusement, she leans forward to give him a kiss, leaving a black kiss mark on his cheek that she knows he won’t be able to rub off with turpentine. "See you around, okay, kid?"

"Yeah. See you around."

He looks back to the river, suddenly alone again.

Well.

It seems like it, anyway.

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: So I hope you don't mind the crossover... It was this or Terry Pratchett's Death, and I enjoy all things Gaiman.
> 
> I think these will end up being shorter than I was imagining... If I want to do them all, I've gotta move, and I'm pretty damn slow.


End file.
